Danielle Panabaker: Horror Movie Queen Joins CW Pilot ‘The Flash’

Danielle Panabaker is moving past the world of horror flicks and into the comic book realm.

The 26-year-old actress, who has made a name for herself as a “Scream Queen” with appearances in horror movies Friday the 13th (2009), The Crazies, John Carpenter’s The Ward and Piranha 3DD, has now signed on to appear in the CW pilot The Flash.

The show is based on the popular DC comic and tells the origin story of Barry Allen (AKA The Flash), a Central City assistant police forensics investigator who comes to Starling to investigate a series of robberies that hold the key to his own past.

Danielle Panabaker is set to play Caitlin Snow, a bioengineering expert who lost her fiance in a lab explosion.

The Flash was originally envisioned as a backdoor pilot episode of Arrow, but has now earned a regular pilot directed by David Nutter.

The project goes against the grain for Panabaker, who followed up a start in Disney movies with a string of horror films.

“Working on three horror films in a row wasn’t a conscientious decision for me actually,” Panabaker said at the time. “Right now, though, the horror genre seems to have better movies coming out these days, and I just responded to these three scripts when I read them. There’s a great quality to horror films today, and it’s just a different feeling when you’re working on a horror set. It’s a great acting experience.”

Danielle Panabaker has a companion from the world of frightful entertainment joining her on The Flash. Rick Cosnett, who plays the villain on The Vampire Diaries, has joined the CW pilot as Eddit Thawne, a detective who comes to Central City holding a dark secret